The Magic Of Now

As a professional speaker who uses magic as my "hook", I often find myself delving into areas that speak of the "magic" that's around us continually that we have a tendency to overlook. In one of my magic routines I explore the ability of being able to move forward and backward in time. It occurred to me that even though that isn't possible, so many of us live as though the past and future is where we want to be, instead of really appreciating the present moment, which is the only time we ever really have.

Einstein showed that time is actually an illusion, our experience of it completely relative to our given point of reference.

The past and future don't really exist at all, except in our imagination. What we remember of the past is simply our own interpretation and perception of past events,... but scientists have shown conclusively that these memories are never accurate at all . So what we remember as the past isn't reality; it's not what really happened at all. And of course the future is merely our perceived anticipation of what we think or hope or dread might happen. It too is a complete illusion.

We waste so much energy and attention... and time ... feeling guilty or angry about or wishing we could change things that never actually happened the way we remember them anyway. Or we get caught up in worry about what might or might not happen, though it almost never does in the way we think.

This moment is all we have. But how often are we really and truly present in it? How often do we really appreciate the joy of simply "being here and now"? Of course this is the real magic of life. Those who can be truly "in the moment" are those who know how to live.

As children we live this magic. Children live only now. They can be devastatingly sad one moment, and totally filled with joy the next, with no thought of what went before.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, most of us lose this, or are conditioned out of it. It's so crucial that we pause to "be here now".

When you're totally immersed in a moment, something truly magical takes place. It's only in the present moment that we experience joy or love or passion. It's the only time we ever truly relate to another person as they really are, and not just as we "think" they are.

Famed psychologist Abraham Maslow discovered that all high performing or "self actualized" individuals experienced moments of what he called "peak experiences". This is one of those experiences where you're completely immersed in the moment. Your senses may become super heightened. Your sense of time passing may expand or contract. And you feel totally "connected" to life. Athletes often call this being "in the zone". It is an experience of heightened well being, with a profound sense of perfection.

So being in the moment, in the "now", can be a very powerful experience. It's definitely something we should practice and be aware of on a regular basis, because it's the core experience of happiness and well-being, and it can lead to insights, inspiration, and bursts of creativity.

As I sit here writing this, in fact, I lose myself entirely in the creativity of the moment, and time goes away. We can all experience this, and we can learn to do so more and more consistently. I hope you'll take a moment today, perhaps right now, to truly appreciate this present moment. I guarantee it'll make you feel magically alive!

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
-Babatunde Olatunji

By: Mitch Williams

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Mitch Williams is an international award winning sleight of hand artist, entertainer, speaker, and an authority on event planning, creativity, peak performance, and human potentials. He specializes in creating customized entertainment, educational, and self improvement programs for corporate and other groups. For more information, visit his website at: www.mitchwilliamsmagic.com